Sisters look for answers in deadly D.C. car chase

Oct. 5, 2013
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Amy Carey-Jones, center, sister of Miriam Carey, speaks to the media outside the home of their sister Valarie, left, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, on Oct. 4, 2013, in New York. / John Minchillo, AP

by Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

by Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY

The family of the woman who was shot and killed after leading police on a car chase through D.C. streets is questioning whether she needed to die.

Miriam Carey, a 34-year-old dental hygienist, led officers on a high-speed chase from the White House to Capitol Hill on Thursday after first crashing her car into a barrier at the White House. She was shot and killed fleeing her car near a Senate building.

"We are still trying to put the pieces together," her sister, Amy Carey-Jones, told CNN Friday.

"Our real concern is why?" she said. "Were things done properly? Was there some other way she could have been helped so that it didn't end tragically?"

Carey's other sister, Valarie, told CNN's Anderson Cooper that "regardless of the reason that she was there (in Washington D.C.), her life shouldn't have ended there."

Valarie Carey said the family came to Washington, D.C., to find out what happened. When asked whether she felt law enforcement had reacted properly in the incident, she said, "That's something that has to be looked into further. This is the reason the family is here. We're here for answers."

Carey was not armed. Two federal officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly, told USA TODAY that all shots were fired by law enforcement officers and that no gun was recovered from her car.

Carey's 1-year-old daughter was in the car with her but was not injured in the incident. She is now in protective custody.

Law enforcement officials said Friday that Carey was delusional and believed that President Obama was communicating with her. The officials, who have been briefed on the investigation, spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

Carey, of Stamford, Conn., first rammed her car into a barrier at the White House just after 2 p.m. ET Thursday. Law enforcement officers surrounded her car with guns drawn but did not fire. She backed up suddenly, pulling away and defying attempts by armed police to stop her as she sped away, striking a uniformed Secret Service agent. However the officers did not shoot, officials said.

She then sped to Capitol Hill, leading law enforcement on a harrowing high-speed chase. As tourists fled and the Capitol was locked down, Carey drove east. Capitol Police officers pursued and tried to stop her in Garfield Circle, just west of the Capitol lawn.

Police had Carey's car surrounded but she escaped, ramming a Secret Service vehicle as she fled. It was only then that police fired their first shots, Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.

Carey then drove onto Constitution Avenue before eventually stopping in the 100 block of Maryland Avenue NE, near the Hart Senate Office Building.

There she crashed into another barrier and tried to flee. The second, fatal round of shots was fired at that point.

Carey had postpartum depression, an injury to her head and a family history of schizophrenia, according to Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, who was briefed on the incident by the FBI and the Secret Service. The condition can cause delusions and paranoia.

Carey thought that her apartment was under surveillance and that Obama was monitoring her, McCaul said.

Carey-Jones said her sister had been on medication for her condition but was no longer taking it.

"They were confident that she was better and that they tapered her off her medication and she said she felt fine," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "There were not moments of her walking around with delusions. That's not what was going on."

Carey-Jones described her sister as a wonderful, vibrant person and loving mother, she said.

"We're just waiting for the real story as to exactly what happened to come out," she added. "The investigation is still coming."